The present invention relates to a universal advertising and payment system and method for networking, monitoring, collecting data, selling goods and services, controlling interactive advertising, controlling and effectuating electronic commerce and controlling vending equipment including private and public phones. The present invention also relates to physical and virtual networking of private and public phones and network hardware, server based network control, and network security. The present invention can be implemented in a manner to allow operational monitoring and control of networks (and network hardware), vending machines including private and public phones, electronic mail (e-mail), electronic commerce (e-commerce), electronic business (e-business), payment for goods and services, delivery of goods and services, and advertising worldwide.
The growth of the Internet has created a new way to buy, sell, trade, and barter goods and services worldwide. This new form of buying, selling, trading, and bartering may commonly be referred to as electronic commerce or e-commerce and or electronic business or e-business. The process of conducting these types of transactions can be called an electronic commerce transaction, electronic business transaction, e-commerce transaction, or e-business.
In addition, as more business gain access to the Internet the way businesses conduct business may also change. This new form of conducting business on the Internet can be referred to as electronic business, or e-business.
As more individuals and businesses gain access to and or develop a presence on the Internet more goods and services can be made available and offered to buy, sell, trade, and or barter. Resultant from rapid growth trends in Internet usage, e-commerce transaction and e-business transaction trends may also be increasing.
Prior to recent Internet, e-mail, e-commerce, and e-business trends many companies might have been able to manage business information processes including dissemination of timely information, order processing, and customer support. Traditional businesses including accounting, operations, sales departments, and order fulfillment departments might have been able to expand equally in harmony with new customer generation and increased business sales volume.
A factor in growing and expanding a business equally as well as in managing balanced growth of a company may have been the fact that until the introduction of the Internet traditional advertising means (print, radio, television, etc.) reached limited selected market places. Reaching selected market places in a controlled approach could allow a company to tailor ramping up for increased order processing, order fulfillment, customer service and or increased ways and opportunities for relevant information to be distributed and otherwise be made available.
The dynamics of the Internet can be that a company with an Internet presence, ready or not, can have a worldwide presence overnight to millions of potential customers and shortly thereafter be inundated with orders, customer service issues, merchandise returns, and order fulfillment requirements. The work load may force some companies into a position of being unable to support certain individual and customers needsxe2x80x94at anytime, all the time, anywhere.
In general, the Internet can offer exposure to many millions of potential customers worldwide simultaneously. The result can be receipt of more orders, news, and or information requiring processing, disbursement, and or fulfillment then a company can reasonably handle. This can result in poor performance on the part of the order recipient to timely meet business and customer needs. In many cases this could cause alienation and ultimate loss of a valued or potential business partners, and or customers.
As individuals become more reliant on the Internet for e-mail, e-commerce and e-business the demands for access to the Internet may increase. In addition, to the buying, selling, trading, and bartering supported on the Internet other services vital to daily business may also be performed online.
For example, Internet banking, stock and security trading, and e-mail and e-business communication may also be a growing functional need of the Internet. Unfortunately only individuals with access to computers that have Internet connectivity can use these services. In large part this may limit the access to Internet services since many potential users might only have access to an Internet capable computer at home or at a place of employment. Even if a computer with Internet access is available the opportunity to surf through tens of thousands of Internet web sites may require more time than is available or may be an inappropriate use of time (as may be common in the work place environment).
Additionally, a computer with Internet access may be too foreboding in time and or skill required from a potential user in finding the appropriate web site, identifying the goods or services desired, and ultimately conducting an e-mail, e-commerce, or e-business transaction. Furthermore, the potential lack of security of sensitive credit card and transaction information, and other sensitive data may be a real threat in discouraging potential users from performing e-commerce transactions. Thus a potential customer may become scared, and or frustrated choosing not to partake in e-mail, e-commerce, or e-business transactions all together.
There are numerous problems for Internet based businesses (referred to as virtual companies or virtual businesses) in that increased competition on the Internet may see their growth diminish. The barrier to entry of a virtual company can be little more than a computer hooked to the Internet. As more web sites appear selling similar products, a virtual company""s ability to differentiate itself from other virtual companies may diminish. Head-to-head competition may shrink profit margins, potentially jeopardize an entire business enterprise. In addition, web based business may struggle to uniquely identify themselvesxe2x80x94after all most if not all virtual companies exist on web pages, and web pages only.
In addition to virtual companies having to compete with other virtual companies, virtual companies have to compete with brick and mortar type companies. Brick and mortar type companies may be referred to as physical companies. Physical companies are companies with physical locations that the public can access.
Physical companies may have several advantages over virtual companies. For example, in many cases physical companies can see their competition coming after them by monitoring and counting the competitions physical locations. Furthermore, it is much easier for a company with physical locations to expand by developing an Internet business, then it is for a virtual company to expand by buying or building physical locations.
A number of deficiencies support the long felt need of the present invention including the inability of many companies to meet the information distribution and availability demands of businesses and individuals with respect to e-mail, e-commerce, and e-business. In addition, the demands for access to Internet services to timely conduct business and personal related transactions, as well as a wide variety of e-mail, e-commerce, and e-business type transactions can result in user dissatisfaction, late or incorrect information, lost opportunities, and or lost sales to name a few.
Deficiencies and shortcomings resulting from limited access to computers that have Internet access or connectivity may restrict access to virtual companies. In addition, the lack of Internet access available to everyone prevents a large contingent of potential customers from conducting e-mail, e-commerce, and e-business transactions with virtual companies.
Deficiencies and shortcomings of virtual companies include a lack of ways to differentiate themselves among competing rival virtual companies as well as brick and mortar type physical companies. In addition, the inability of the virtual companies to generate physical point of presence in the public may make virtual companies susceptible to competition from physical companies that decide to diversify by developing a competing virtual business.
The present invention is embodied in a simple and effective system and method for a universal control and payment system to distribute and display interactive advertising, conduct electronic mail, electronic commerce, electronic business, and control the billing for the use of vending equipment. Vending equipment can include copiers, phones (public, private, cellular), facsimile machines, printers, data-ports, laptop print stations, notebook computers, palmtop computers (PALM PILOT), microfiche devices, projectors, scanners, cameras, modems, communication access, personal data assistants (PDA""s), pagers, and other types of vending machines, personal computers (PC), PC terminals (NET PC), and network computers (NC).
One aspect of the present invention provides a system for public access to electronic mail (e-mail), electronic commerce (e-commerce), and electronic business (e-business). More specifically, the present invention can control, monitor, and effectuate e-mail, e-commerce, and e-business transactions such that the general public can use the present invention as a public access electronic commerce station. E-business includes data communication related to business activities, and includes financial related information, and public transportation information.
Another aspect of the present invention provides the ability to route e-mail, e-commerce, and e-business transactions, allowing e-mail, e-commerce, e-business transactions including credit card and other types of transactions to be processed in an online environment.
It is understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, but are not restrictive of the invention.